Influence of humic acid and salicylic acid on yield,fruit quality,and leaf mineral elements of strawberry (Fragaria × Ananassa duch.) cv. Camarosa

A greenhouse experiment was conducted to evaluate the effects of foliarly-applied Humic Acid (HA) and Salicylic Acid (SA) on strawberry (Fragaria × Ananassa cv. Camarosa). On average, HA applications, regardless of concentration, increased overall yield, Soluble Solids Concentrations (SSC), Titratable Acidity (TA), vitamin C, red tone (a*), leaf potassium (K), phosphorus (P), calcium (Ca) and magnesium (Mg) while had no effect on pH and fruit luminosity (L*). In contrast, fruit from the untreated control tended to have higher Total Antioxidant Capacity (TAC) and SSC: TA ratio than HA-treated plants. Application of SA significantly increased yield, vitamin C, SSC, SSC: TA ratio, TAC, a*, leaf P and Ca while had no effect on TA, fruit size, L* and pH. In general, application of either HA at 25 mg L¹ or SA at 2 mM resulted in better strawberry performance than did other rates of these compounds.     

Phosphorus Solubilizing Microorganisms in the Rhizosphere of Local Rice Varieties Grown without Fertilizer on Acid Sulfate Soils

Local farmers who living in South Kalimantan (Banjarese farmers) apply almost none of phosphatic (P) fertilizers to grow local rice varieties. This practice has been adopted for many years. We have investigated the mechanisms involved in P availability for the crop. This study focuses on identifying microorganisms involved in solubilizing insoluble P. The study was conducted in Balandean District, South Kalimantan, Indonesia. The soil was classified as acid sulfate soil. Three out of 8 rice varieties grown were selected for net P balance in the soil-plant system and the microbial studies. We found that the P uptakes by the rice crop was much higher than the sum of P released from soil, water and soil microbial biomass P. It was also observed that these soils harboured bacteria and fungi that have the capability of dissolving aluminium phosphate (AIPO₄) and tricalcium phosphate [Ca₃(PO₄)₂].
Based on the area of clear zone on plates, it seem that there were variations of ability in dissolving Al-P or Ca-P. DNA sequence analysis shown that Burkholderia sp. was the common P solubilizing bacterium found in the rhizosphere of rice varieties Siam Unus, Siam Ubi and Siam Puntal. The presence of other bacteria was specific for each rice variety grown.     

Facilitation of spinal NMDA receptor currents by spillover of synaptically released glycine

In the mammalian CNS, N-methyl-D-aspartate (NMDA) receptors serve prominent roles in many physiological and pathophysiological processes including pain transmission. For full activation, NMDA receptors require the binding of glycine. It is not known whether the brain uses changes in extracellular glycine to modulate synaptic NMDA responses. Here, we show that synaptically released glycine facilitates NMDA receptor currents in the superficial dorsal horn, an area critically involved in pain processing. During high presynaptic activity, glycine released from inhibitory interneurons escapes the synaptic cleft and reaches nearby NMDA receptors by so-called spillover. In vivo, this process may contribute to the development of inflammatory hyperalgesia.     

Variation of Seed Glucosinolates in Lines of Brassica napus

The glucosinolate (GSL) pattern of 93 resynthesized (resyn) repeseed lines was examined over three years, and five stable genotypes with distinct GSL profiles were identified. Typically the resyn B. napus profile exhibited progoitrin as the main GSL, but contained sinigrin. The different GSL patterns of the four deviating lines are discussed with respect to the proposed biosynthetic pathway. Within the resyn and further extensive breeding materias, screening for low indolyl GSL contents resulted in finding one genotype with an extremely low 4-hydroxy-gluco-brassicin and glucobrassicin content. Furthermore, other lines were identified, over a wide range of indolyl GSL contents. The values were stable over two years.     

Evaluation of different methods for the prediction of saturated hydraulic conductivity in tilled and untilled soils

The larger the bulk density of the soil, the smaller the saturated hydraulic conductivity (K_s), however, the relationship between K_s and dry bulk density for tilled and untilled conditions is different. K_s is lower in tilled soil than in untilled soil with the same texture at the same bulk density. The purpose of this study was to compare different models for the prediction of K_s for two soil textures under both tilled and non-tilled conditions. We compred two models based on the non-similar media concept (NSMC-0, NSMC-1), a model based on the similar media concept (SMC) and a model based on the Kozeny equation and Poiseuille law for prediction of K_s (KC-1 and KC-2). This study was conducted at two areas with loam and silty clay loam soils under tilled and untilled conditions. It is concluded that the SMC model is not able to predict K_s under either tilled or untilled conditions. Further, the NSMC-0 model, along with an equation to estimate the shape factor, was able to predict K_s versus dry bulk density for tilled soils. According to our study, under untilled conditions, the KC-1 and NSMC-1 models, and under tilled conditions, the NSMC-1 and NSMC-0 models, predicted K_s accurately. It is concluded that the NSMC models together with the optimized Kozeny–Carman models could reliably be used to predict K_s in different soil textures.     

The influence of different lipid sources and levels on growth, body composition and haematology of Huso huso

In order to improve feeding and growth of juvenile great sturgeon Huso huso, the effects of various lipid sources in feed were examined. Three hundred juveniles (initial body weight 215 ± 10 g) were distributed into 15 flow-through 1100 l tanks (20 fish per tank). Five experimental diets containing various lipid levels were formulated: diet C (control; without added oil), SO(L) and SO(H) diets containing soybean oil concentrations respectively, (53.5 vs. 174 g/kg), FO(L) and FO(H) diets containing fish oil with low and high concentrations respectively (53.5 vs. 174 g/kg). Fish were fed three times daily based on their appetite for a period of 6 weeks. At the termination of the experiment, growth rate was improved with increasing oil content in the diets. There were significant differences in final weights among fish fed the different experimental diets. Lipid content of muscle and liver significantly increased with increasing dietary lipid levels for both soybean and fish oil. The lowest cholesterol level and the highest haematocrit value were measured in fish fed the FO(H) diet. No significant difference was found among dietary treatments in terms of triacylglycerol concentration, number of red blood cell, mean corpuscular volume, mean corpuscular haemoglobin (MCH) and MCH concentration (MCHC). According to the most growth indices, results of this study suggest that the best results were observed in FO(H) which can be attributed to the greater palatability of diet containing high fish oil, supply of fatty acid requirement and enhanced physiological performance.     

Protein quality of corn hybrids differing for endosperm characteristics and the effect of nitrogen fertilization 1

Corn (Zea mays L.) is an important source of protein for humans and animals. Because dent corn is highly responsive to nitrogen (N) fertilization, substantial amounts of N are used for corn production. Application of N fertilizer may reduce protein quality of corn kernels through an increase in zein content. The objective of this study was to determine if corn endosperm characteristics influence the effect of N fertilization on protein quality. In 1988, six corn hybrids differing for endosperm characteristics were grown at two locations in Ohio and with two N rates, 34 and 200 kg/ha. The waxy hybrid had a greater concentration of fraction I protein than the non‐wary hybrid. These two hybrids did not differ for other fractions except fraction III at Columbus. The soft endosperm hybrid had a higher concentration of fraction I protein than the hard endosperms hybrids. Soft and hard endosperm hybrids differed for fraction II protein for the 34 kg N/ha fertilizer rate but not the 200 kg N/ha fertilizer rate. These two classes of hybrids did not differ for fraction III protein. Increasing N fertilizer increased fraction II concentration for all hybrids. Concentrations of the other two protein fractions did not respond to fertilizer rate. The increase in fraction II concentration with N fertilization may result in a decrease of protem quality and feed value. Although all hybrids responded to N fertilizer, some hybrids had bigger increases in fraction II proteins than other hybrids.     

Development of a Multiplex PCR for the Identification of Major Pathogenic Bacteria of Post‐Partum Endometritis in Dairy Cows

Post‐partum period has an important role in cows' breeding due to its effects on reproductive efficiency and subsequent pregnancy. Escherichia coli, Trueperella pyogenes (Arcanobacterium pyogenes), Fusobacterium necrophorum and Prevotella melaninogenicus are recognized as major pathogens associated with uterine endometrial lesions. The objective of this study was to identify these pathogens using the polymerase chain reaction (PCR) as a culture‐independent sensitive method. A total of 172 cows were examined 25–35 days post‐partum, and 128 cows were examined at 2 weeks later (39–49 days post‐partum). Uterine discharges were collected by covered plastic infusion pipettes. The prevalence of endometritis was greater in the first examination than the second (35.5% vs. 16%). E. coli was detected in eight of the samples, T. pyogenes was detected in 13 of the samples and F. necrophorum was detected in 11 of the samples. There was no positive sample of P. melaninogenicus. Uterine contamination by T. pyogenes and F. necrophorum in the first examination was higher than the second examination. T. pyogenes affected as a tendency the prevalence of clinical endometritis in first examination. Primiparous cows showed 4.02 times higher odds of clinical endometritis compared with second‐parity cows in first examination. A multiplex PCR protocol as a simple, less expensive, fast assay was introduced to identify E. coli, T. pyogenes and F. necrophorum.     

Genetic diversity in tomato (Solanum lycopersicum L.) germplasm using fruit variation implemented by tomato analyzer software based on high throughput phenotyping

The decrease of genetic variation in crops like tomato (Solanum lycopersicum L.) due to domestication, breeding, and population bottle necks for fresh market consumptions has increased the need for this cash crop’s conservation and characterizations. To study the genetic variation of this valuable genetic resource in the National Plant Gene Bank of Iran, a collection of 589 tomato accessions from different regions was characterized using semi-automatic and high-throughput techniques. Based on the fruit shape, the studied accessions were classified into ten groups and significant differences for all the fruit characteristics studied indicated an abundant diversity within the germplasm collected from different regions. Studied tomato germplasm was grouped into nine main clusters based on hierarchical cluster analysis. More than 83% of data variation was explained by seven components in which the first two components explained for 50% of the variation where fruit shape index and proximal/distal fruit end shape showed a high contribution in the variation of the first component. This unique genetically divergent germplasm could be utilized to select tomato breeding lines of interest. Also, accessions belonged to the heterotic clusters could be selected for hybridization and conservation purpose as well as enrichment of pre-breeding programs of the tomato germplasm.